This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Able Tai is pretty sure a new dish on offer in her downtown Toronto office building’s bustling food court is good for her waistline.

Article Continued Below

The salad, served with care at the Cereal Bar in Commerce Court, certainly appears to be virtuous. It’s made with soba noodles, baby spinach and slices of cucumber and carrot and topped with shredded chicken.

But, as Tai points out, one can never tell with food court fare. Even the most upright sounding dish could have hidden, secreted calories.

“We think it’s healthy and very filling, but I’d be still interested in getting a bit more info on the dish,” says Tai, who lines up for the substantial salad at least once a week. The project manager was also worries on behalf of her friends, some of whom travel to the Cereal Bar from nearby office towers up to four times a week.

“It’s a really good value compared to all the other options out there,” Tai says.

In many ways, the salad also provides good nutritional value.

Its 16 grams of fat is a reasonable amount for lunch. The 40 grams of protein will curb hunger. And while its 657 calories is a tad high for lunch — for the average woman the salad contains more than a third of her daily calories — the meal can easily be modified to cut back the calories.

The sodium is what sinks this salad. The 1,603 is 100 mg more sodium than what Health Canada recommends adults aim for in a day.

Much of the salt will be lurking in the dressing, which is made for each individual salad with a glug of vegetable oil, a slosh of soy sauce and a dash of spicy chili oil. One tablespoon of soy sauce has about 1,000 mg of sodium.

The nutrition savvy Tai suspected her favourite salad was too salty. She has already started asking the server to use just half the sodium in the dressing.

Tai, who found the salad too big for one meal, also asks for half the soba noodles and half the vegetable oil.

“For me, 650 calories is too much for lunch.”

Registered dietitian Zannat Reza agrees with Tai’s tweaks. She says the salad will give diners a generous dose of veggies — about four Canada Food Guide servings — something most people don’t get enough of.

While soba noodles generally have a health halo, Reza says diners must always be wary of portion sizes. The generous serving of the buckwheat pasta — about two cups — is equivalent to four Canada Food Guide servings.

“Salads can be a smart lunch option. The best way to picture your salad is half of it as veggies, a quarter lean protein and quarter grains. Go light on the dressing and keep an eye on portion size — too much of a good thing can add extra calories.”

Verdict: A wise choice for your waistline — if you make some modifications.

Soba noodle salad

SERVING SIZE 517 grams

CALORIES 657

FAT 16 grams

SODIUM 1,603 mg

PROTEIN 40 grams

CARBOHYDRATES 86 grams

RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCE

Men/Women

Calories: 2,500/2,000

Fat: 60 to 105 grams/45 to 75 grams

Sodium: 1,500 to 2,300 mg

Carbohydrates: 281-325 grams

Delivered dailyThe Morning Headlines Newsletter

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com